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Art Pottery (American and European art pottery other than mid century items)

Pottery and Porcelain (Figurines, plates, vases, etc.)

Mid-Century Design (Mid Century pottery, currently featuring one of the best selections of studio and W. German pottery in the U.S.)

Studio Pottery (While many of these items can be found in other categories, they are also gathered here for those with a special interest in studio work.)

Glass (art glass, stemware, EAPG, Depression, Elegant, etc.)     

Metalware (Various metal items and misc. vases, inkwells, etc.)      

Paintings (oils, watercolors, prints, 19th and 20th century American and European)

Links

Pages About Us

Meet the Gin and the For

Meet the "staff"

The Cor-purr-ate Story (Glyph's Rise to Power)

Contact Information (Phone, etc.)

Essays and Information:

Book Review: Fat Lava, West German Ceramics of the 1960s & 70s

Collecting West German Pottery: Thoughts, Philosophy, and History

A Divine and Delightful Madness: An Intro to W. German Pottery

Learning the Basics about West German Pottery (This is the most in depth essay.)

West German Pottery Marks

W. German Companies, Designers, and Studio Potters

West German Picture Gallery and Identification Aid (pictures of items we've had over the last 3 years)

To Buy or Not To
Buy:  Going Where Price Guides End (thoughts about collecting, aesthetics, and health)

Get the Picture Straight: The Basics of Selling Glass and Pottery on the Internet (how to write item listings, matters of photography, etc.)

E-MAIL US

Ginfor's Odditiques (click to
return "home")

Pedagogy, Philosophy and Nonsense (my "other" site: writing, learning, and odd ideas like long hair and fairy god-princesses)

I've only seen one piece of West German pottery that I didn't like, and that one was simply too sloppily decorated to tolerate. However, likeable can only take a piece of art pottery so far.

Below are various pieces of W. German pottery, all pretty. Consider what makes them work and what limits them. In some cases, it's the glaze/decor that's most important, sometimes the form. Sometimes, it's both. While taste and opinion figure strongly, and right or wrong are broad terms, there are certainly better and worse responses. Even in matters of art, it's possible to be simply wrong or downright stupid. All that really matters is learning to see what you're looking at and refining your own sense of what you like and why. People who say, "I know what I like and don't like" tend to think that's the stopping point, but it's really just the beginning.

(These are actually the same size and shape. Seeming differences are due to the photography.)